Laboratory Assistant

Provincial Health Services Authority; Vancouver; On-site; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Laboratory Assistant to join their team in Vancouver. In this role, you will be responsible for the preparation and processing of laboratory specimens, ensuring accuracy and adherence to established protocols. This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to vital healthcare services, focusing on Indigenous cultural safety and equity in health contexts. Join a dynamic organization that values your growth and offers a comprehensive benefits package, including professional development opportunities and a supportive work environment. If you're passionate about making a difference in healthcare, this is the ideal opportunity for you.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits package

Professional development opportunities

Flexible work options

Annual statutory holidays

Access to WorkPerks discount program

Qualifications

• Completion of a Lab Assistant training program is required.
• One year of related experience is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and process laboratory specimens according to established procedures.
• Verify specimen identification and manage data entry accurately.

Skills

Effective communication

Organizational skills

Typing speed (25 wpm)

Ability to operate laboratory equipment

Understanding of Indigenous Cultural Safety

Education

Grade 12

Lab Assistant training program

Tools

Laboratory Information System (LIS)

Job description

Laboratory Assistant

Specimen Receipt and Dispatch

Vancouver, BC

The Laboratory Assistant performs general laboratory and clerical procedures related to the production of media, waste management, customer service, data entry, and the receipt, handling, accessioning, preparation and distribution of laboratory specimens.

What you’ll do

• Prepare specimens for testing in accordance with established procedures by performing duties such as preparing smears, staining and coverslipping slides, centrifugation, aliquoting (subsampling), and loading samples onto specimen racks.
• Verify that specimens meet acceptable identification criteria and verify specimen type according to established procedures, sort and assign laboratory numbers to specimens, in priority according to pre-defined criteria, and apply barcode labels according to established operating procedures.
• Prepare culture media and stock solutions by performing duties such as weighing dehydrated media and chemicals, dissolving in water or other solvents, measuring Ph and adjusting as required, and sterilizing by filtration or autoclaving.
• Receive incoming specimens and requisitions and check for accuracy and completeness of information such as personal health number, name, date of birth and tests required. Contact physicians or labs for missing information and make necessary corrections.
• Process test requisitions by entering patient data into computer systems, issue new patient identification number where required and identify duplicate record problems, obtain or clarify missing or questionable information, correct errors and omissions in patient demographic data and enter corrections into computer systems. Enter test requests into the Laboratory Information System (LIS).

What you bring

Qualifications

• Grade 12
• Successful completion of a recognized Lab Assistant training program
• One year’s recent related experience or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the historic and ongoing impacts of settler colonialism on Indigenous Peoples in social and health contexts, including supported by significant knowledge of Indigenous-specific mandates, including clear understanding of and commitment to eradicate Indigenous-specific racism and discrimination and embed Indigenous Cultural Safety and Humility.
• Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of the historic and ongoing impacts of settler colonialism and systemic racism on Indigenous Peoples within social and health contexts. This includes understanding how these factors contribute to current health disparities and barriers to care. Show a clear commitment to identifying, challenging, and eradicating Indigenous-specific racism and all forms of discrimination impacting equity-deserving groups within health care settings. This involves familiarity and understanding Indigenous Cultural Safety and Humility recognizing personal biases, institutional barriers, engaging in anti-racism education and training and advocating for systemic change.
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of legislative obligations and provincial commitments within Specimen Receipt and Dispatch contexts found in the foundational documents including Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action (2015), In Plain Sight (2020), BC's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2019), United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Reclaiming Power and Place Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls Calls for Justice (2019), the Declaration Act Action Plan and Remembering Keegan: A First Nations Case Study - BC Human Rights Code, BC Anti-racism Act and how they intersect across the health care system.

Core Competencies

• Brings an understanding of the Indigenous specific racism and the broader systemic racism that exists in the colonial health care structure, and has demonstrated initiatives in breaking down barriers and ensuring a safe environment ensuring a sense of belonging to all and informed by Indigenous Cultural Safety.
• Awareness of social, economic, political and historical realities of settler colonialism on Indigenous Peoples and familiarity with addressing Indigenous-specific anti-racism, anti-racism and Indigenous Cultural Safety and foundational documents and legislative commitments (the Declaration Act, the Declaration Action Plan, TRC, IPS, Remembering Keegan, etc.).

Skills & Knowledge

• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing
• Ability to deal with others effectively.
• Ability to organize work.
• Ability to type at 25 wpm.
• Ability to operate related equipment.
• Physical ability to carry out the duties of the position.
• Demonstrates a commitment to beginning and/or continuing their personal learning journey related to Indigenous-specific racism and dismantling systems of oppression, as well as addressing racism more broadly. Shows willingness to articulate and share their learning experiences to contribute to a culture of motivation and inspiration among peers.
• Demonstrates foundational knowledge of the social, economic, and political realities of settler-colonialism and its impacts on Indigenous peoples and equity-deserving groups within social and health contexts. Understands the impact of social determinants of health-on-health outcomes. Shows a commitment to learning about and upholding legislative obligations and provincial commitments outlined in foundational documents such as the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action (2015), In Plain Sight (2020), BC's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2019), United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Reclaiming Power and Place: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls Calls for Justice (2019), the Declaration Act Action Plan, Remembering Keegan: A First Nations Case Study, the BC Human Rights Code, Anti-Racism Data Act, and the Distinctions Based Approach.

What we bring

Every PHSA employee enables the best possible patient care for our patients and their families. Whether you are providing direct care, conducting research, or making it possible for others to do their work, you impact the lives of British Columbians today and in the future. That’s why we’re focused on your care too – offering health, wellness, development programs to support you – at work and at home.

• Join one of BC’s largest employers with province-wide programs, services and operations – offering vast opportunities for growth, development, and recognition programs that honour the commitment and contribution of all employees.
• Access to professional development opportunities through our in-house training programs, including +2,000 courses, such as our San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training course, or Core Linx for Leadership roles.
• Enjoy a comprehensive benefits package, including municipal pension plan, and psychological health & safety programs and holistic wellness resources.
• Annual statutory holidays (13) with generous vacation entitlement and accruement.
• PHSA is a remote work friendly employer, welcoming flexible work options to support our people (eligibility may vary, depending on position).
• Access to WorkPerks, a premium discount program offering a wide range of local and national discounts on electronics, entertainment, dining, travel, wellness, apparel, and more.

Job Type: Temporary, Full-Time - Until return of incumbent
Wage: $29.27 / Hour
Location: 655 W 12th Ave, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4R4
Closing Date: May 6, 2025
Hours of Work: 1500-2300 (Monday to Friday)
Requisition # 181913E

What we do

Provincial Laboratory Medicine Services (PLMS), part of Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), is at the forefront of diagnostic testing in BC, operating across 31 sites in the Lower Mainland and Central Coast. From hospitals to specialty labs within Vancouver Coastal Health, Provincial Health Services Authority, Fraser Health Authority, and Providence Health Care, our dedicated teams deliver fast, accurate results that drive critical patient care and medical innovation. Whether detecting diseases, guiding treatments, or supporting groundbreaking research, PLMS plays a vital role in advancing healthcare and saving lives across the province.

The Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) plans, manages and evaluates specialized health services with the BC health authorities to provide equitable and cost-effective health care for people throughout the province. Our values reflect our commitment to excellence and include: Respect people – Be compassionate – Dare to innovate – Create equity – Be courageous.

Learn more about PHSA and our programs: jobs.phsa.ca/programs-and-services

PHSA is committed to anti-racism and equity in our hiring and employment practices. With learning and compassion, we are addressing existing inequities and barriers throughout our systems. PHSA is seeking to create a diverse workforce and to establish an inclusive and culturally safe environment. We invite applications and enquiries from all people, particularly those belonging to the historically, systemically, and/or persistently excluded groups identified under the B.C. Human Rights Code.

One of PHSA’s North Star priorities is to eradicate Indigenous-specific racism, which includes ongoing commitments to Indigenous recruitment and employee experience as well as dismantling barriers to health care employment at every level. We welcome Indigenous individuals to apply and/or contact the Sanya’k̓ula Team (Indigenous Recruitment & Employee Experience) for support at [e-mail].

Indigenous-specific anti-racism initiatives are rooted in addressing the unique forms of discrimination, historical and ongoing injustices, and exclusion faced by Indigenous peoples. These initiatives align with an Indigenous rights-based approach, recognizing the inherent rights and title of BC First Nations and self-determination of all First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities. PHSA is mandated to uphold legislative obligations and provincial commitments found in the foundational documents including the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action (2015), In Plain Sight (2020), BC's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2019), United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Reclaiming Power and Place Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls Calls for Justice (2019), the Declaration Act Action Plan and Remembering Keegan: A First Nations Case Study.